Bottle-protector



E. K. WOLFE.

BOTTLE PROTECTOR.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 4. 1918.

1,338,063. Patented A r 2 1920.

INVENTOR mflmum ATTORNEY EVERETT K. WOLFE, or WESTCHESTER, NEW YORK.

BOTTLE-PROTECTOR.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Apr,

Application filed February 4,1918. Serial No. 215,232.

To aZZ whom it may concern: I

Be it known that I, EVERETT K. WOLFE, a citizen of the United States, residing at lVestchester, in the county of Bronx and State of New York, have'invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bottle- Protectors, of which the following isa full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to bottle protectors, of a kind suitable-for protecting nursing bottles while'being heated, and'while being handled by an infant.

More particularly stated, I seek tomake my improved bottle protector principally of wire, so arranged as to afford a maximum of protection due to heat or to blows or shocks, the device being in two parts which are separable in order to facilitate the introduction and removal of the bottle at the will of the operator.

Reference is made to the accompanying drawing, forming a part of this specification, and in which like reference characters indicate likeparts in the several figures.

.i i.gure 1 is a side view, partly in elevation and partly in sectioins'howing my device as used with a nursing bottle of ordinary form.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary perspective, showing one of the snap fasteners'for holding together the two separable parts of the device.

Fig. is a section on the line 14; of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

A spacing ring is shown at 5, and in this instance is made of sheet metal. A number of ribs 6 are each made of wire, and provided at its upper end with an eye 7, the several eyesextending through holes in the spacing ring 5.

Each rib 61s provided with a curved portion 8, leading down to a waist bend 9. Below this waist bend is a portion 10, having a V-form, the portions 10 together constitut ing a spider which serves as a base, as may be understood from Figs. 1 and 1.

A waist ring is shown at 11, and engages all of the waist bends 9. The waist ring is in this instance made of a single piece of wire, the ends of which are joinedby twisting them together at 12. f

The parts thus far described together constitute the main or .body portion of my device.

I provide a spacing ring 13, having a form similar to that of the spacing ring 5. I also provide a spacing ring 14, havingashorter cross diameter than that of the ring 5. A number of ribs 15, each provided at its e'nds witheyes 16; 1 7, extendfromthe spacing ring 5 to the spacing ring 14. "The eyes are preferably soldered to the spacing ring's or secured'thereto by pinching, but this is not essential. The spacing ring 13 carries a pair ofsnap fasteners 18,each'1nade of sheet metal and held upon it by pins 19 or secured u'ponit in some equivalent manner. The parts numbered 14 to 19 inclusive together constitute the upper ortop member of my'device, and is separable from the body portion or lower member thereof. r

A nursing bottle is shown at 20. WVhile in this particular instance the bo'ttlehas a general cylindricalform and is provided with a'lower end which is rounded, it should be understood that bottles of any other form can be employed. WVith a bottle of the form here indicated, the rounded portion 21 is adapted to rest against the bent- -portions8 of the'ribs 6, so 'that the weight of thebottle and its contents is supported altogether above the'spider or base. Thus the bottle rests upon what is essentially a spring seat. Moreover,t he curvature or slant of the portions 8 oftheribs 6, by their-form as a slanting support, further protect the bottle as against shocks or violent blows. The neck portion of the bottle extends out through the spacing ring 14: whenever the top or upper member of my device is in position, as shown in Fig. 1. The annular tip 23 of the bottle may be of the usual form to facilitate the attachment of a nipple.

The operation of my device is as follows:

The body portion or lower member is placed in a dish or kettle of hot water, and simply rests on the bottom of the vessel. The bottle being filled with modified milk or other liquid food to be fed to an infant, the bottle is placed in the body portion of the device, so as to be supported in the manner above described, and thus kept out of contact with the bottom of the vessel containingthe hot water. Thus arranged the bottle cannot readily be cracked from the heat, yet the bottle can be lifted out from time to time, in order to test the temperature or other condition of the contents of the bottle. The food being thus prepared, the top member is placed in position in other words, the spacing ring 13 is rested on the spacing ring 5, and the spring fasteners 18 are caused to grip the edge of the spacing ring 5, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. This done, the bottle and the protector may as a unit be lifted out of the hot water, the nipple placed in position if this has not already been done, and the bottle with its protector may now be handed to the infant, or manipulated by the mother or the nurse, in such manner as to feed the infant from the bottle.

Suppose, now that by accident the bottle is allowed to strike against a bed post or the like, or to drop on the floor. The bottle is protected from danger of breaking, be cause the bottle does not receive the full force of the blow. The fact is that the bottle is practically spring-supported and springcushioned as against almost any violence to which it is likely to be subjected in ordinary use in practice.

I do not limit myself to the precise construction shown, as variations may be made therein without departing from the spirit of my invention as determined by my claims.

I claim a l. A protector for nursing bottles, comprising a cage member having a number of Wires spaced apart in order to inclose the bottle and provided with waist bends, a waist ring inclosing said wires and engaging said waist bends so as to brace the same, thereby forming a waist, the parts being so arranged that said waist, ring engages the outer peripheral surfaces of the wires of said cage member, said waist as a whole being curved in order to accommodate the lower end of a bottle rested thereupon, said wires being further provided with a V bend each, the several V bends together forming a base.

2. A protector for nursing bottles, comprising a cage member having a number of wires spaced apart in order to hold a bottle, each of said wires being provided with a V-bend and with a waist bend, and a waist ring inclosing said wires and engaging each of said waist bends, said waist ring and portions of the wires engaged by said waist ring together forming a'waist said V-bend being so located as to extend underneath said waist, and to serve as a spring support for a bottle resing upon said waist.

3. A protector for nursing bottles, comprising a pair of cage members for inclosing the bottle, said cage members being completely detachable relatively to each other, one of said cage members having a spring formation for supporting the weight of the bottle, the other of said cage members having a resilient construction so arranged that when the two cage members inclose the bottle both of said cage members are under slightspring tension due to pressure of the bottle thereupon.

4. A protector for nursing bottles, com,

prising a pair of wire cage members mated together in order to inclose a bottle, one of said members comprising two rings of different diameter spaced apart, and a number of separate ribs each extending from one of said rings to the other, each rib being made of a single piece of spring wire and having end portions which terminate abruptly, each end portion being curved partially around one of said rings and thus formed into an eye.

EVERETT K. WOLFE.- 

